YOUTH

David and Goliath. Tiananmen Square. Elizabeth Eckford, of the Little Rock Nine, against an angry mob and the National Guard. In every social revolution, the youth of society has always played the defining role in a community's struggle for freedom and equality. In keeping with that tradition, the NAACP Youth & College divisions transform bright and eager idealists into effective community leaders and heroes. Its undying mission is to nurture leadership skills in ordinary people in the faith that they will rise to extraordinary challenges and become beacons to others who Choose Freedom.

In addition to guiding our young people to uplift their community, we also help them to empower themselves through a college education. Without a weapon there can be no revolution, and what better weapon can there be to fight ignorance and prejudice than the human mind? On November 17, 2001, with sponsorship from Verizon, the Princeton Review Foundation, and Sallie Mae, the NAACP Youth & College Division organized and planned the largest and most successful National Day of College Preparation in the five-year history of the event. More than 2000 high school juniors and seniors and their parents from twenty cities received free SAT training and financial aid information. Education is the first step to choosing freedom.